Even if I don’t agree with some of the statements in the text and I think that some of them were caused by the personal dislike and / or bad mood on particular day - I can’t deny some truth that lies within. We hear a lot that:

an established relationship is the most important factor in selling process

networking is one of the pillars this company rests on

I wouldn’t be frank if I said that these are not true (even partially), but to be honest I hate thinking about our work that way as this is not really my way to go. I’m a meritocracy zealot - I worship the cult of actual value, not an illusion (promise) of value ("we’ll be the best to deliver that, … because we have a long-term relationship with you"; "yea, we may not know how to do that, but surely we’ll find someone in Abu Dhabi who did it already, so we can have a phonecall with him …").